Chapter Text
“Stay in the loop, Buddy.” Tapping on the pile of paper, Lance winks at Keith, only to get a huff from him.
“Stop calling me Buddy,” Keith says, voice raw with sleep. Lance wonders if Keith is the kind of person who rolls out of bed and gets ready in 5 minutes. That sure as hell would explain the stick, he has way to far up his ass. If that was Lance, he too would be Mr. grumpiness.
Keith takes hold of the papers, giving the front a once-over.
“I don’t need your help, Lance.”
“Tough luck, honey, you got it anyway,” Lance flashes him a grin. If Keith hates being called Buddy, Lance bets Honey is way too risky. To his surprise Keith only mutters something inaudible under his breath and turns away from Lance, making it difficult for him to see the paper with their assignment.
“Tell me you don’t think we are a good team?” Lance pushes on, knowing he is out of luck.
“Like hell we are. And for the record, there is no we in this. There is you,” Keith points over his shoulder to Lance, “and me,” he turns his finger towards himself. “Not us. Never.”
Lance exhales loudly, meaning for Keith to catch on. This again? Ever since Keith got hired four months ago, Lance has been having trouble with the weekly assignment. They are supposed to do it together. Get both their insights into the gym’s performance on the market. What works and what doesn’t. How often do customers need help or how many sign up for a personal trainer.
The Gym center is one of the only ones left in town that refuses to get an app. It’s part of the marketing strategy, the big boss informed Lance. It sets them apart. Everything is so automated today. The gym tries to bring people together and back to earth. Talk to one another to get help from the staff. Mentoring other members. That’s the whole image of the center.
Lance immediately fell in love with the concept. He gets to talk with tons of different people throughout the day. That is where Lance shines.
The reports help the higher-ups make better decisions for the company. Before Keith got employed, Lance took great pride in working out a flawless report. He would bring it home and analyze the numbers under the dim light from the kitchen hood. The next day he would compare his results with Kathrins.
Too bad she got another job offer. Back then Lance felt they contributed as a team in a significant way. He misses Kathrin.
“Seriously are you always this impossible to work with?”
“No. Only for you.” Voice stale. What a tedious coworker Keith is.
“Consider me flattered.” Lance’s eyes bore holes in Keith’s skull, matching his tone. How did they even end up here? He doesn’t remember.
One day Lance was on top of the world making great reports that mattered, the next he got an intolerable coworker that had never heard the word: teamwork, before. Lance has more than once written a way too angry email to the higher-ups, deleted it again and swallowed the bitter pill. Why he still stays silent when his boss obviously likes Lance’s reports, he doesn’t know. But the idea of facing an actual disagreement rather than the banter he exposes him to now, doesn’t resonate with Lance.
“Good for you.” Keith mumbles, sounding like whatever Lance has to say is as interesting as an insight joke you are not in on.
“You know what? I’m just being me. And I’m pretty nice, if I should say so myself. The least you could do are accepting a hand.” Lance waits, lets the statement simmer in the air. Keith doesn’t response.
“Alright, do it your way, but when the report is not finished, don’t come crying. I’m going to clean the bench press or something, see ya.” It’s hard to sound tough when in reality Lance is somewhat disappointed. He had looked forward to actually working on a case with Keith. Well scratch that. Why would this week be any different? Let the hot head do it all by himself. Crash and burn are more the Keith-style anyway.
Lance removes himself from the situation. Mindlessly fixing a machine and moving a couple of left behind weights to their respective home again. He is relieved when a group of young girls ask for help on the smith machine.
xxx
“Wait? You’re a drop out?” Lance nearly shrieks, far too delighted at the latest information Keith just let slip. He remembers to manage his tone at the end, keeping it down, so as not to disturb the customers.
“I gave the academy a raincheck”
“What- Did you just quote Imagine dragons?”
“No.”
“Oh you can’t run from this, Keith!”
“Alright, yes? I am a drop out,” Keith’s eyebrow disappears behind his black, and rather unkept, bangs, like he doesn’t have a single care in the world. His tone unchanging. Lance pushes on, knowing full well that he is treading on dangerous ground. Leaning forward, placing a hand under his chin as he rests his elbows on the gym counter, Lance wiggling his eyebrows at Keith.
“Interesting, interesting! The great Keith Kogane can apparently fail at something, oh my god that just made my day!”
“Glad to contribute to your happiness. Keep rolling in my misery while you are at it,” Keith waves his hand like it doesn’t matter. Voice flat, non-engaging and eyes darting to an elderly couple that joined the gym last month.
Mostly, they just pour a lot of free low-quality coffee into their mugs and chatted with other gym members, however today they actually went for a walk on the treadmill. Every time they tried to approach Keith he dashed and disappeared before anyone got hold of him, leaving Lance to chat with the lovely pair. Not that it matters to him, he loves that part of the job.
“Thank you!” A laugh escapes Lance. Finally, he finds something where the pair is equal. Ever since Keith got hired he has been better at more or less everything except customer service.
“You are way too excited about this for your own sanity.” Keith’s lack of amusement cuts through Lances thoughts. Hard grey eyes meet blue in a surreal prolonged eye contact, which is far from comfortable. Tapping a ballpoint pen, Keith is getting impatient and breaks the shared eye gaze first.
Lance is more than content to keep looking at Keith, even when he’s glancing over the gym, pretending to be alert for a problem, ready to lend a helping hand, like now is his time to shine in the customer service compartment. To be frank, Lance has a slight problem with staring, he should stop now, for his own good.
“No way, I’ve perfected my amount of excitement,” Lance says instead of looking away from Keith’s profile, smiling into his hand. Something shining under the mop of black hair and Lance is not quick enough to detect if it might be jewelry. The thought itself seems so bizarre that he snorts. Keith is definitely not the kind of person who wears such stuff.
“Sure, Lance,” Keith turns towards him again, pursed lips, arms crossing and a finger tapping a beat on his arm. The ballpoint pen is left behind on the counter.
“It’s the truth. Facts if you will.”
“I will not, then.”
“That’s not how the saying goes.”
“M'kay?”
“But, like – “
“Beat it, I’m busy,”
“No, we are having this conversation!”
“Okay? Good luck having it by yourself,” Keith salutes Lance with two fingers at his temple and a noticeably eyeroll, as he starts to walk away.
“Got to clean the weights.” No, you do not, is on the tip of Lances tongue. He did that 30 minutes ago. He decides against another argument with Keith, too tired to start one more. Lance doesn’t count that conversation as a win in his book. Though getting to see any form of emotion on Keith’s face might have been worth it.
xxx
Lance only manages to get inside of his apartment and toe out of his shoes before he gives in and fishes his phone out of the jeans pocket. Flopping down on the hallway floor, leaning against the wall.
He has been messaging a guy for a couple of months and after a long day in Keith’s tiresome company, he can use an uplifting spirit.
Downloading the new dating app on a whim one late night halfway through a bad romcom from the 90’ and a whole a bucket of ice cream meant for 2, is not on the list of Lances proudest moments.
He had created a profile for Darling blue. Well, Lance had to use those eyes for something, and if he had to say so himself, they were pretty neat. Setting up the rest of the profile stretched long into the night. It had to be perfect.
When he was finished, he was left with a positive buzzing in his stomach. Lance had never put that much energy into a dating profile, and all it took was the overwhelming feeling of forever being alone while shoveling down the ice cream.
Lance reviewed the profile once more before posting it:
Age: 27 years
Hobbies: Fitness, cooking, dancing, dogs and cats (Please I love them, and my landlord is an asshole!)
Looks: Haha tell me how you look! Then me and my blue eyes will reveal our self ;)
Interest: Relationship
About me: I like to go for a long walk in the park, what can I say, I’m a romantic person and I have non to spill it all over. Don’t make me walk alone at night, I’m a scaredy-pants! This is your opportunity to hold my hand and walk me home ;)
He might come on too strong, but what the hell, so does everyone else on the app, all other than Running man. And for some reason, Lance likes him.
It started with one text:
To Darling Blue – From Running man:
I got a cat. Her name is George. She has light blue eyes, maybe like you Darling Blue?
She is white and grey and has a temper, yet she loves me.
And if you just let her come to you, she is an angel.
Anyhow,
Hope this finds you well - And that you might find an interest in texting me.
- Running
What sane person names their cat George? The name has always felt weird on his tongue. Lance laughed out loud when he received the message. Finding that he couldn’t stop again.
And who signs with their username on a dating profile? This man must be something else.
The thing is, Running was the first who didn’t ask for a dick pic in his opening line, and for that reason only, Lance engaged in the conversation.
He looked at Running’s profile:
Age: 28 years
Hobbies: Running, cats (Specifically my cat George), my child, reading, writing.
Looks: I have long hair, not in the rock and roll kind of way. Well, I look tired, I’m sorry. I’m a dad. Ear piercings, 11 to be exact.
Interest: Relationship
About me: I am a Voice actor, not full time. And no, I’m not going to tell you who, that defeats the purpose of anonymity. I like to spend time with my family, and I share a house with my brother. I’m a mad man if you let me play Mario kart.
It turned out that the Running guy picked George up from a shelter when she was a baby, becoming a cat parent, like he said on his profile. She was a pretty feisty kitten, making it difficult for the employees to reach her, therefore they just guessed her gender. And Running kept her name.
Lance and Running kind of just click at the first message. It is weird. They only text, and as soon as Lance gets home from work, he is on the app, checking for a reply. They can text for hours. How witty and sarcastic the guy is, Lance strangely likes it.
When Lance was together with Pidge and Hunk, his high school friends, they gave him strange glances until Lance broke the silence and laid it all on them. He got the usual; be careful and don’t base your happiness around this again, Lance.
He pushed the warnings away. This was different, he met the guy online and not at a party.
And now? The two of them had moved on to texting daily. Lance finds that he is more optimistic throughout the day. The Romcoms don’t mock him anymore.
Lance opens the newest text from Running. Even as the app needs a little loading time, Lance already knows what the two of them are talking about. Of course he does. Running is a bit of an obsession for Lance.
When he got off work he caved in and asked for an explanation of the others username. Then he put the phone back in his pocket and walked home. No one would catch him blinding himself in the dark, dulling his reaction and letting creeps attack him.
From Running man to Darling Blue:
Welcome home from work. I hope that coworker of yours was in a better mood today?
Well, are you sure that you are ready to engage in the topic? It’s from my favorite book and I need to shut up about it. Like if I get started, I’m nearly unstoppable. Kinda embarrassing.
Haha that was your prewarning (And your permission to stop me)
A grin spreads on Lances face, making it hurt slightly. Naming yourself after a book you like is way too cute for Lance to handle. Feeling a bit foolish that his username is just a reference to his eyes, Lance hopes Running has forgotten it.
From Darling Blue to Running man:
The guy is still somewhat of a jerk. I hope he trips and falls on an escalator. Without getting seriously hurt. I’m an angel after all ;)
You had me at favorite book. Please, do tell me about this wonder of yours!
I’m all ears!
From Running man to Darling Blue:
Hahaha ruthless, I like it. Let’s hope the guy gets what he deserves.
Okay! Let me gather my thoughts.
So!
Lance can see Running types away. This is going to be interesting. And probably take a while, which Lance doesn’t mind, if it means more texting time. He gets up from the floor with a small grunt and walks into the kitchen to prepare some food. Pasta will be the answer for tonight. Hunk can scold him on his next visit.
From Running man to Darling Blue:
First of all, an old LGBT book. Pretty cool right? Some of the stuff is kinda outdated, but you still get a really great point of view on the backlash they faced back then.
Lance opens the text, realizes that Running has chosen to send smaller texts and turns his attention back to the pasta at hand, to give him time to finish his explanation.
From Running man to Darling Blue:
I first read it when I was 18. Totally changed me! I had never ever run before that moment. But now I truly love to go for a great track around the block or park.
Well, onwards to the plot we go. (Sorry man, you started this rant!)
Running sends over seven individual texts with exclamation marks, Lance can’t stop the grin spreading on his face. That’s a lot of love for one book.
You totally fall in love with the characters!
Sorry if this is all a mess haha. You got me so excited! Sorry, my bad.
I won’t spoil the ending of the book. If you ever feel like you want to read it, you can just borrow one of my copies. I have a couple of them, since I ruined my first copy by reading it to many times.
Oh and! There was supposed to be a movie! And it never came to be. SO sad! We got robbed!
Okay, I’m done now. Thank you for asking and sorry about the big infodump.
The excitement shines through the texts. The offer to borrow the book makes Lance blush into the lonesome kitchen. Butterflies flutter inside of him.
Lance sits at the dinner table as he eats his boring pasta from a spiderman plastic bowl. The only flavor is salt and pepper. It scares Lance how much he likes to read the rant. It’s obvious that he truly loves the book. Lazily he chews the overcooked pasta as he starts to read.
From Darling Blue to Running man
Jesus! You are right. That is passionate, my dude! Love that for you! I’m impressed and also quite inspired now. That book sure sounds like a must read. To be honest with you, I’m not much of a reader myself, but you might just be able to change that ;)
I like that the book made you a geek about running. That’s cool! I can’t run for shit. Dance on the other hand, I’m a professional! (Kidding, I’m like mediocre)
Plus WTF you totally deserve that movie!
The rest of the night the two of them text back and forth. In his eager to talk about the book, Running forgets to give Lance the name of the book. Right before bed, he sends it in a separate text along with a goodnight.
As Lance crawls into bed, he finds the book on the online library and borrows it. Even when Running offered him a copy, something inside Lance wants to read it before they meet. He likes Runnings the passion for the book.
When he has tossed and turned in the bed for a while, he gives in. Opens his phone and starts to read. It doesn’t matter that he screws up his internal clock, because he finds that he sincerely likes the book. Delighted to not only read it as a way to impress Running, but he also can’t stop reading again. It is long past midnight when he falls asleep, phone still in hand.
xxx
“Why do you even work here?” Lance wants to know. He has been attempting to start a dozen conversations with Keith today. All of them were shot down within a few sentences. “You don’t exactly look the sporty type, if you know what I mean.” As soon as the question leaves his mouth, he can hear the accusation in the undertone and wince. Eather Keith doesn’t care or doesn’t notice.
“I like to run,” he says still overlooking a team report that he, yet again, has done as a solo project.
“So, you just, like, got the job because you like to run?” What a bullshit explanation. Without permission, Lance’s mind wanders to Running, like it does a lot lately.
Running, who also likes the fun of a good run. Not that Keith must be having much fun while running, as he hasn’t gotten the stick out of his ass. Running would never take a job for such a vague reason, Lance is certain. A good man through and through.
The fact that he hides behind an anonymous dating app, is an actuality Lance would happily overlook any day.
xxx
From Darling Blue to Running man:
Morning sunshine!
I’m off too hang out with my friends today, but I’m sure that I can sneak time in for you <3
What are you up to?
Lance debates sending the heart but ends up doing it. Taking initiative and all, right?
He is on the bus to Hunks. They are going to the cinema in two hours, meeting Pidge there.
Pulling his phone out in the dark room during the movie will probably not earn him any points. The urge to do it though? Lance can already feel it, and he is only on the bus.
Running answers Lance before the next stop.
From Running man to Darling Blue:
Um? Morning? Now, Blue, I know that you get up awfully late on your days of, but like… Is it 11 am? I guess we can pretend it’s morning. For your sake.
Also, I’m sorry to destroy your mental picture of me, but I’m not really what most people will categories as a “sunshine.”
Have fun with your friends.
I went for a run earlier today with my brother and now we are planning a trip to visit our parents next week or something.
Eagerly Lance sets to work, answering. He doesn’t care that the woman beside him is sending a worried glance, possibly because of the ridiculous smile on his face.
From Darling Blue to Running man:
Yay! Thanks for bending the rules of the concepts of mornings for me! I appreciate it!
Nah, I’m sure that you are a ray of sunshine. You are just hiding it ;)
Do your parents live far away? Mine does. Kind of a bummer :/
The city flies by as the bus gets closer to Hunks. Lance knows the route with closed eyes. A small tingle forms in his stomach when the phone in his hand vibrates. God, how is Lance supposed to watch a full movie when there might be a text waiting for him?
From Running man to Darling Blue:
I’m rolling my eyes. Just so you are aware.
Yes, our family lives around 2 hours from here. But we like to visit as often as possible. Dad wants help to repair his old bike. Something about the breaks. So, he needs me.
From Darling Blue to Running man:
Wow Cool! Bikes? As in those with or without a motor?
Because Lance has to know. If it’s the later, he might be a goner for this man. Something about a man on a bike. Yeah, Lance can’t resist.
From Running man to Darling Blue:
Motorbike. Dads worked as a mechanic before he retired. His hands have been worn from years of working so his grip is not that strong anymore when he has to do the repairing. That’s why he needs my help.
“Fuck,” Lance mutters under his breath and hits his head against the back of his headrest, earning another glance from the woman beside him. He shoots her an apologetic smile and returns to his phone.
A slightly emo type with way to many piercings on a bike? How is that fair? The next question nearly writes itself.
From Darling Blue to Running man:
Does that mean you can ride a bike? Do you have one?
Also - Totally sweet! Sunshine, see?
Finding that the bus trip is over soon, Lance wishes that it would last forever. When he gets off. Hunks apartment is right across the street, and he has to tell Running goodbye.
From Running man to Darling Blue:
Yes. I got my license when I was 18. Dad helped me build a bike from scratch. Pretty neat.
Technically, I still own a bike, yes. But at the moment it’s at my parents. I haven’t got time for it right now.
Does he sound slightly sad, Lance wonders. The he sends a message telling Running that he thinks it’s awesome and that he needs to go now. Ending with a: Good luck planning your visit.
It’s bittersweet to get off the bus and put the phone back in his pocket.
Hunk is all smile when Lance arrives.
Pidge drags them to the arcade when the movie is finished.
When Lance spills that the guy he is talking to rides a bike, his friends burst out in sympathy laughter. Even if Lance can’t talk to Running much during the day, he is having fun.